The Research Development Core has three specific aims: (1) to support junior faculty and research associates in acquiring abilities in all phases of research to develop and test interventions that enhance independence; (2) to develop individuals who have the necessary breadth and depth of experience to lead teams conducting research across the full spectrum of related research including clinical trials, studies of mechanism of treatment response, cost-effectiveness studies, etc., (3) to create a research core of faculty across relevant disciplines and levels of seniority to carry out fundamental research into the design, implementation, analysis, and application of intervention studies. The Research Development Core builds upon a successful program of research and faculty development in the Yale Program on Aging. Investigators from Epidemiology and Public Health, Geriatrics, and Clinical Epidemiology have forged substantial partnerships to cooperate in fellowship training, clinical trials, and epidemiologic surveys. Junior Faculty Development in the Pepper Center will go beyond these informal arrangements and create a strong system of focused interdisciplinary research and training. Junior Faculty Development will involve a group of "mentors" with expertise in the content and methods of the junior faculty's research. The mentors will assist in all phases of research design, implementation and analysis; in the shaping of an educational program; and in the monitoring of the progress of the junior faculty. The Research Development Core will initiate a formal educational series, the Junior Faculty Seminars, that will cover keytopics in intervention research. We also plan to pay special attention to training our faculty in the preparation of successful grant applications. A further major function of the Research Development Core is the establishment of the Pilot Project Program. By funding innovative, early stages of intervention research we hope to provide encouragement to new clinical strategies that would enhance the functional independence of the elderly.